Every time Michael Snodin walks into a grand hotel, he is reminded of the court of Louis XIV, dubbed the Sun King for his blazing magnificence. The French monarchy may have fallen, and Versailles become a tourist attraction on the end of a metro line, but the splendour of his reign lives on wherever five stars shine on a hotel sign.

"Luxury hotel decor - and very grand town halls - probably show most vividly the lasting influence of the baroque movement, in the emphasis on opulence, colour, magnificent textiles and sheer drama, " said Snodin, co-curator of an exhibition opening next week at the V&A South Kensington, in London, which has heaped up treasures from across Europe and South America to support the argument that 17th and 18th century baroque was the first truly international style. "Versailles style is a well recognised concept in hotel decor."

Many of the objects borrowed for the exhibition could go straight into a grand hotel suite, including a towering velvet and embroidered four-poster bed, which a 17th century Swedish ambassador took home to Stockholm after a spell in Louis's court, as close as he could find to the imperial bed - which he would have seen when Louis received visiting dignitaries in his chamber.

Louis himself, as well as the style he patronised, was hugely influential. The exhibition includes a late portrait of the king, a renowned dancer in his graceful youth, with his toes still turned out in a classical ballet position.

By the time Louis died in 1715 the style was vieux jeu in France, but was raging across Europe and South America. The exhibition includes a gold altarpiece from Mexico, with a life-size weeping statue of the Virgin, above. It is owned by Mexican state TV, and she was sent to London dressed in the appropriate purple and black robes for Lent: since the exhibition runs into July, Snodin is wondering if somebody will bring her a change of clothes after Easter.

• Baroque, 1620-1800, Style in the Age of Magnificence, V&A, 4 April - 19 July